THREE teenagers are dead and two more critically injured after a head-on car smash during a summer holiday outing.

The 18-year-old driver had borrowed the car from his parents to take his sister and three friends to see pals in Chester.

As they headed home through Mobberley, Cheshire, their Vauxhall Corsa collided head-on with a Peugeot 406 approaching from the opposite direction.

The driver, from Stoke-on-Trent, a 16-year-old girl from Knutsford in the front seat, and a 14-year-old girl from Winsford, in the back, all died instantly in the smash.

The driver's 14-year-old sister and a 16-year-old boy from Mobberley, who were both travelling in the back of the Corsa, were cut free and are in a critical condition in hospital.

The girl suffered serious chest injuries and the boy has severe abdominal injuries.

The driver of the Peugeot 406, a 36-year-old woman from Stockport, was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital, where her condition was described as serious today.

The crash was so severe the Corsa's roof and doors had to be cut off to get the youngsters free. Fire crews from Wilmslow and Knutsford were called in and Sub Officer Chris Johnson, of Wilmslow, said: "This was a difficult operation because of the severity of the impact. Crews worked hard to free those trapped.

"Several members of the fire crew who attended the scene are fathers of teenagers themselves - and our thoughts are with the relatives of those who tragically lost their young lives."

The crash happened on Knutsford Road between Knutsford and Wilmslow just before 10pm.

Police were this morning still trying to contact relatives of all the victims and have not released their identities.

Accident investigators were today expected at the scene and Cheshire Police have issued an urgent appeal for anyone witnesses to contact traffic police at Macclesfield on 01625 610000.